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A Palestinian Veto Over U.S. Policy

(Jerusalem Post) Yitzhak Klein - The Palestinian-Israeli conflict exists because the two sides cannot agree on the terms on which to end it. It will remain an irritant until the Palestinians agree that the conflict is at an end, which gives the Palestinians a veto. The Obama administration is demonstrating that the Palestinians can achieve far-reaching gains by being intransigent, since they hold in their hands a mechanism that allows them to dictate American policy. U.S. demands are reshaping Israeli-Palestinian relations in the latter's favor without doing anything to bring about genuine rapprochement. They reward radicalism and intransigence and thus encourage further radicalism and intransigence. Far from facilitating the formation of an effective regional coalition against Iran, the administration's current policy is likely to elevate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a distressing distraction to the main issue in regional politics. That does not serve American, nor Israeli, nor even moderate Arab interests. It only serves Tehran's interests. Societies have to be psychologically ready for peace and reconciliation and until they are, peace is unachievable. The Palestinians aren't ready yet and the Obama administration encourages them to believe that they need never be. The writer heads the Israel Policy Center.
2010-04-30 08:58:12
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